Sound enhancement speaker enclosure

ABSTRACT

An audio speaker enclosure for restoring characteristics of a stringed musical instrument when replayed from a recorder or from another source. Sounds as represented by electrical signals are applied to a speaker which is mounted in the acoustical opening common to this type of musical instrument. Sympathetic vibrations, including audio tones and overtones are added by a novel speaker enclosure identical to the original musical source instrument.

United States Patent [1 1 McKechnie [4 1 June 28, 11974 SOUND ENHANCEMENT SPEAKER ENCLOSURE [76] Inventor: John C. McKechnie, 2300 Mohawk Trl., Maitland, Fla. 32751 221 Filed: Ju1y18,1972

21 App1.No.:272,992

[52] U.S. Cl. ..179-11M, 84/267, 84/296, 84/455 [51] Int. Cl GlOk 113/00, 1-104r 1/28 [58] Field of Search 84/296, 267, 268, 270, 84/].16, 274, 294; 181/31 B [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 959,318 5/1910 Dcssureau 94/274 1,923,870 8/1933 Kressmann 181/31 B 2,139,099 12/1938 Robertson 3,101,810 8/1963 Doschek 181/31 B 3,194,870 7/1965 Tondreau ct a1.. 84/1.l6 3,432,001 3/1969 Anastin 84/296 3,550,495 12/1970 Shotmeyer 84/267 Primary Examiner-Stephen J. Tomsky Attorney, Agent, or FirmDuckworth, Hobby & Allen [57] I ABSTRACT An audio speaker enclosure for restoring characteristics of a stringed musical instrument when replayed from a recorder or from another source.

Sounds as represented by electrical signals are applied to a speaker which is mounted inthe acoustical opening common to this type of musical instrument. Sympathetic vibrations, including audio tones and overtones are added by a novel speaker enclosure identical to the original musical source instrument.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to realistic reproduction of musical sounds produced by a stringed musical instrument and restoration of characteristic tones left out of the reproduced music due to limitations of the recording and playback process.

High fidelity reproduction of music, for example, requires careful recording and reproduction equipment to exactly reproduce the original sounds of the instrument. Precise linear recording equipment with expensive balanced and linear amplifiers as well as frequency overlapping output speakers are used to carefully restructure the total bandwidth including all of the possible frequencies which might be transmitted. Considerable expense and careful amplitude and frequency bal-' ance are necessary, as well as exceeding care, to minimize the sounds of recording tape hiss, or disc to needle, to reduce scratch, amplifier hum, and other nonrelated noise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With the forgoing in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide, in an electro-accoustical playback speaker enclosure system, an improved means for regenerating the original sounds during the playback phase so that the sounds during recording are substantially duplicated during playback.

Another object of this invention is to provide an acoustical playback speaker enclosure system which will supress unrelated noise while enhancing cheracteristic sounds.

Another object of this invention is to provide an attractive, visual and ornamental output speaker enclosure as a representation of a well reconized musical instrument which will add its cheracteristic tones to any sounds being played over its enclosed speaker.

Yet another object of the invention aims to accomplish the foregoing through the provision of a speaker enclosure, made from a copy of the original musical source instrument itself; being used to replace the conventional box enclosure for the reproduction of sound. By mounting the speaker in the stringed instrument sound output aperture, all characteristic sounds of that instrument are restructed within a duplicate of the original sound-generating musical instrument itself. The characteristics of the original musical instrument are re-structured by sympathetic vibrations and tones of the playback stringed instrument speaker enclosure.

The invention may be said to reside in certain combinations and arrangements of cooperating elements which achieve the foregoing objects and advantages as well as others which will become apparent from the following descriptions of a preferred embodyment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is an elevational view of the acoustical playback apparatus embodying subject invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken substantionally along line 2 2 thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODYMENT For purposes of description and explanation a guitar will be described as the stringed musical instrument speaker enclosure. It is understood however, that this invention a applies equally well to other stringed musical instruments such as a violin. a banjo, or even a cello 0r viola.

Illustrated in FIG. l and described hereafter is a guitar speaker enclosure generally indicated at 3 and operated by transmitting electrical signals from an audio playback apparatus 1 over attached wires 2. Pegs 43 are for tuning the attached strings of said guitar speaker enclosure 5 and are common to this type of stringed instrument.

Illustrated in FIG. 2 is the speaker enclosure 5, containing dynamic speaker 6 mounted in the guitar acoustical aperture 7 and embodies tuned guitar strings 8 according to the invention. The acoustical aperture 7 shown in FIG. 2 is common to the instrument and is generally located adjacent to the rigid stem terminus 9 on the face of the guitar. This opening generally is the area of sound emanation from the guitar and being close to the guitar stem has little vibration of itself but transmits a maximum of acoustical energy out of the guitar in this area in response to vibrations of the vibrating strings and the acoustical chamber.

An oval speaker 6 is mounted in the aperture 7 inside the guitar body 5 so that aperture 7 is entirely blocked by the speaker diaphram 6. Electrical wires 10 are connected to the speaker 6 and run within the guitar body 5 to a point in the guitar stem which is relatively rigid.

At this point the wires ill) are connected to an external connector means llll so that an external electrical signal can be delivered to said speaker 6.

Guitar strings B are tuned to the standard musical notes of E, A, D, G, B, and E, as for normal playing. As guitar or other music is imparted in the form of electrical signals to speaker 6 by way of external connector means ill and wires 10, the speaker 6 vibrates within guitar aperture 7. Sympathetic vibrations are set up in I said tuned strings 8, and cavity resonant guitar tones are formed in the guitar body 5 thereby restoring notes, tones, and overtones lost in the original recorded and- /or transmitted music.

The result is guitar music restored to its originally played form by sympathetic vibrations of the guitar speaker enclosure itself. When voicesounds or other than guitar musical sounds are imparted over the speaker 6 by means of electrical wires 2, the guitar speaker enclosure adds guitar tones to related frequencies. Noise produced by the recordplay needle scratch, magnetic tape recorder hiss and electrical static noise is supressed since it involves non-resonant frequencies. Higher guitar frequencies lost by limitations of transmitted audio signals are restored by characteristic sympathetic frequencies.

The overall effect is one of restoration of musical fidelity to its original played form. I

Advantages of the device described reside in the simplicity and artistic character of the device, and the fact that it will restore and enhance related stringed instrument music played over the device.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangement of parts which have been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

It is claimed:

1. A stringed musical instrument speaker enclosure and speaker comprising in combination: a speaker enclosure shaped like a guitar and having a hollow body having an acoustical aperture therein and a neck attached thereto and strings attached to said body and neck; an electrodynamic speaker mounted inside said body covering the acoustical aperture therein, said speaker enclosing the acoustical aperture and facing the strings attached to said body and neck, an electrical from said instrument. 

1. A stringed musical instrument speaker enclosure and speaker comprising in combination: a speaker enclosure shaped like a guitar and having a hollow body having an acoustical aperture therein and a neck attached thereto and strings attached to said body and neck; an electrodynamic speaker mounted inside said body covering the acoustical aperture therein, said speaker enclosing the acoustical aperture and facing the strings attached to Said body and neck, an electrical connector means mounted on said body and electrically connected through said body to said electrodynamic speaker and a recording playback system operatively and removably connected to said electrical connector means, said electrical connector means being mounted through said speaker body in juxtaposition to the junction of the body with the neck whereby the connecting of a recorded stringed musical playback source to said electrical connector means will reproduce stringed music including sympathetic vibrations from said instrument. 